Spider-Man: The Manga
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| Spider-Man: The Manga | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| スパイダーマン | |||
| Genre | Action, Adventure | ||
| Manga | |||
| Author | Ryoichi Ikegami | ||
| Publisher |  Kodansha |
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| Demographic | Shōnen | ||
| Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Magazine | ||
| Original run | January 1970 – September 1971 | ||
Spider-Man: The Manga is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami which basically retells the story of Spider-Man in a Japanese setting. It was originally published in Japan from January 1970 to September 1971 in Monthly Shōnen Magazine and was one of two Marvel Super-Heroes to receive their own Japanese manga stories in the early 1970s, the other being the far less well-known Hulk: The Manga, which has never been reprinted.
A high school student named Yu Komori (小森ユウ Komori Yuu?) is bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him spider-like powers (like the U.S Spider-man, Peter Parker). Yu faces Japanese versions of villains such as Electro, the Lizard and the Kangaroo. Yu also has an Aunt May (her name is "Mei"), and the publisher of the Joho newspaper is a counterpart to J. Jonah Jameson.
Initially, Ikegami both wrote and drew the stories. On completion of the 6th story, Kazumasa Hirai became the writer, while Ikegami continued to provide the art. The first few stories featured analogues to some of the US Spider-Man's villains and supporting cast, while maintaining an altogether more moody atmosphere. Later stories as written by Hirai departed even further from the source material, and included scenes of sexual and gruesome imagery of a kind not seen in the original United States Spider-Man comics.
In 1996, books were reprinted in their original format, with the original Japanese text. The covers were updated with all of them featuring a picture of Spider-Man holding a flower. They are distinguished by a number on the bottom left of the cover, indicating which story arch they follow, and the color of the text on the cover is different from book to book. There is also a semi transparent band around the cover with Japanese Text and a picture of Spider-Man. On the back of the band there is a type of numbering system perhaps indicating the books in the series.
As of 2008, the English-language versions of the stories as released by Marvel Comics themselves were published across 31 issues from December 1997 to April 1999. 8 out of the 13 Japanese stories in total were fully translated, with several edits to remove some of the violent scenes. The final issue (#31) began the translation of the 9th story and was left incomplete by the title's cancellation.
[edit] Stories
- "The Birth of Spider-Man" (Spider-Man: The Manga #1-3)
- "The Transformation of Doctor Inumaru" (Spider-Man: The Manga #4-6)
- "Too Strong a Hero" (Spider-Man: The Manga #7-9)
- "The False Spider-Man" (Spider-Man: The Manga #10-15)
- "Yu Under Suspicion" (Spider-Man: The Manga #16-18)
- "Summer of Insanity" (Spider-Man: The Manga #19-21)
- "What is My Destination!"
- "Woman of Winter" (Spider-Man: The Manga #22-24)
- "Strangers" (Spider-Man: The Manga #31)
- "The Mania Demon"
- "Shadow of Spider-Man" (Spider-Man: The Manga #25-30)
- "Witch of the Golden Eye"
- "The Woman Who Raises the Tiger"
[edit] References
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